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11 

.USE 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



PRESENTED BY 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 









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AN HISTORICAL SKETCH 



OF 



NORTH KINGSTOWN, 

I ■ ■■ — ■ — 

DELIVERED AT WICKFORD 



July 4th, 1870, 



BY 



David Sherman Baker, Jr. 



/ OF coiw; 



WAbH^'i: 



PROVIDENCE : 

E. A. Jonxsox A Company, Book (S: Job Printers, 

1876. 



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.A'8B( 



In accordance with the recommendations of the President and 
Congress of the United States, and the State Legishiture (trans- 
mitted by His Excellency Governor Henry Lippitt ) that aiipro- 
priate exercises be held in the several towns of Rhode Island, on 
the one hundredth anniversary of American Independence and 
an historical sketch of each town be read on that occassion the 
Town Council of North Kingstown at its regular meeting May 
S, nominated David S. Baker. Ji-. to prepare an Historical Ad- 
dress, and appointed Cluis. Sisson, Chas. T. Crombe and Allen 
Keynolds of tlie Council a Committee of Arrangements. 

At the meeting of the Council, June 11, the sum of iwo was 
appropriated to enable the Committee of Arrangements to carry 
out the purposes of their ai)pointment. 



(From Rhode Island Pendulum. J2dy 9, 1876.) 

The One Hundredth Anniversary of American Independence 
was celebrated here in a manner wortliy the centennial year. 
The proceedings plainly showed, that even North Kingstown 
can be aroused once in a hundred years at least. Tiie day was 
clear and pleasant, though warm and dusty, as usual on the 
Fourth of July. At six o'clock a. m. the village bells rang forth 
the peals of Liberty, as first it was proclaimed from Indepen- 
dence Hall, one hundred years ago. At seven o'clock the St. 
Bernard Catholic Temperance Society was escorted to the rail- 
road station by the Annaquatucket Temple of Honor, where 
they took the 8 a. m. train for East Greenwich. At ten o'clock, 
a procession was formed at the town house for the purpose of 
escorting the Poet and Orator of the day, etc., to the First Bap- 
tist Church, where the exercises were held. The procession 
was commanded by Col. Elisha Dyer, Jr., Chief Marshal,assisted 
by Lieutenants E. "^R. Johnson and P. M. Nichols, and marched 
through the streets in the following order : 
Narragansett Cornet Band. 
Chief Marshal and Aid. 
Narragansett Fire Engine Company. 
Beacon Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., No. 38. 
Carriage containing Committee of Arrangements. 
Carriage containing Poet and Orator of the day, and Clergy. 
Carriage containing Rearder of the Declaration of Independence, 
and President of the Town Council. 
Carriage containing Town Othcers. 
Annaquatuckct Temple of Honor. 
After the procession had entered, the church was crowded to 
overflowing. Mr. Chas. Sisson presided. At eleven o'clock the 
exercises were opened with music by the band. Prayer was then 
offered by the Rev. Dr. Williams. After more music by the 
band, the Declaration of Independence was read by Mr. William 
C. Baker. At the conclusion of the reading, the national hymn 
Avas sung by the choir of the Baptist church. The chairman 
then introduced the Poet of the day, Harrison G. 0. Gardiner, 
Esq.. who proceeded to read the poem. 

After the audience Avere again favored Avith music by the band, 
the Orator of the day, David S. Baker, Jr., Esq., Avas intro- 
duced. * * * * 



At tlie close of the oration the congregation arose and joined 
with llic clioir in singing '"America." The benedeetiou was 
tlieii ])ri)nounced hy Rev. Dr. Williams, and the assem])ly dis- 
j)f'rsed. The procession marched to the Town Jloiise. and was 
disbanded. At six p. M. the bells were again rung for half an 
hour. As the •' shades of evening gathered round." a large con- 
course of people assembled near the railroad depot, where an 
open-air concert was given liy the Narragansett Cornet Band. 
Tl>e music was kept up till <|uiio late, interspersed with fire- 
works of various kinds. And so ended a gala day for N(n-th 
Kingstown. 



Mr. Chairman' axd Fellow Citizexs :— 

<-<= *i\ I ' ''^ bin e assembled to-diiy to render homa_o-e to the 
,jL%." _ i).i'^t. xUl animosities have been laid aside, and we 
1 J. , ( ome, free from sectional hate or party spirit, with 
due reverence we trust and a just appreciation of our high priv- 
ilege — Avith an honest local pride, to lay our humble offerings 
upon the altar of our country. The solemnity, which marks 
this scene, the joy, that wells up in every breast, bespeak the 
sincerity of our purpose and the profound gratitude we feel for 
the rich inheritance, which Ave have received from our fathers. 
Xor are these emotions confined to us. While we are thus en- 
gaged, more than forty millions of our fellow countrymen send 
us greeting. Actuated by the same impulses, Avith like fervor of 
hcart,and Avitli lips tremulous Avith similar accents of praise, they 
have gathered, throughout the extent of our broad domains, to 
review the line of our country's history and across the gulf of a 
hundred years to commune Avith the spirits of the illustrious 
dead. It is a sacred occasion. Our fathers looked forAvard to 
it Avith mingled hope and apprehension, we have long hailed it 
from afar, and generations to come will recur to it with fondest 
delight. If, as the Roman orator says, '• the dead behold Avith 
])leasure the fruits of their labor, Avhile in the flesh," with Avhat 
joy and Avonder do the founders of this Republic, secure in im- 
mortal glory, to-day look down upon the scenes of their earthly 
struggles ! As they' gaze upon the princely magnificence of our 
metro])olitan cities, and tlu^ unostentatious wealth of our towns; 
as they wit ness the advance in art and science and the sweet 
lihilauthropy of our various institutions ; as they see the little 
republic of thirteen colonies, with its fcAv inhabitants, now clasp- 
ing in its embrace a continent teeming Avith an industrious pop- 
ulation ; and, above all, behold their children, for the most part, 
adhering Avith fidelity to the principles of manliness and virtue 



which they established, could they ask a higher recompense for 
their toil, a more glorious reward for their sacrifices ? Well 
may they be content, their triumph is complete ! Their zeal 
was not that of a fanatical propagandism. The principle of 
self-government, of independent political action, is to-day veri- 
fied. It is no chimera, nor even any longer an experiment, but 
it is a fact, firm and lasting as eternal truth. 

The century, which terminates to-day, has been one of prodi- 
gious change. The vague ideas of social and exact science, 
which the ancient and mediaeval philoso})hers handled to no 
pur])ose, have been moulded into definite conceptions and em- 
bodied in tangible forms. It has been the age of universal 
emancii^ation of thought, the era of the telegraph and of steam. 
In the political world, change has followed change in rapid 
succession, kingdoms have given place to empires, and empires 
have been swallowed up by republics, until scarcely a nation in 
Christendom maintains the same form of government it did at 
the beginning of the century. Europe has been the theatre of 
constant war and revolution. France and Spain have bowed 
before the sceptres of man rulers, each bringing to his assis 
tance his favorite political scheme, only to have it set aside by 
his immediate successor, Ireland, for ages shrouded in error 
and superstition, in the long darkness of her annals has enjoyed 
one sublime and gladsome day, when the sun of freedom rifted 
the clouds that obscured her and her harp gave forth a note of 
joy. We have seen, the seperate dukedoms of Italy consolidated 
into one nation, and Prussia rise from a second class power and 
assert her supremacy over the other states of Germany. We 
have beheld Venice, the oldest republic in the world, stripped of her 
freedom and nationality ; we have seen the humiliation of the 
papal power, and witnessed the diadem, that crowned the heads 
of the Cffisars and adorned the brow of Charlemagne, forever 
laid aside by a single act of Francis the Second. Yet amid all 
these multifarious changes, the Republic of 177'', though at 
different times confronted by foreign war, and once brought face 
to face with civil strife, has always held to the wise tenets of its 
founders ; and, adhering to the well-tried principles of a liiin- 
dred years, still stands, in the words of a distinguished states- 
man, " the pride of the earth and the favorite of heaven." 



A just idea of our political fabric can be obtained only by a 
careful examination of its iiarls. Tourists tell us that standing 
for the first time under the immense dome of St. Peters, there 
is unvariable experienced a feeling of disappointment. The real 
St. Peters is belittled by the shadowy edifice of the imagination. 
But after frequent visits, after walking its aisles and measuring 
with the eye its interminable distances ; after viewing minutely 
its dome, its nave, its transepts, its arches and pillars ; after 
studying the multiplicity of its architectural designs and drink- 
ing in its varied magnifience and sublimity, the great cathedral 
gradually expands in size and grows in beauty, until the precon- 
ceptions of it are lost in its grandeur and vastness. So to fully 
comprehend the magnitude and solidity, the harmony and beau- 
ty of our governmental edifice, we must study seperately the 
elements of which it is constructed. 

We may fairly conclude that to the peculiar institutions of 
New England, to the schools and churches, but more espec- 
ially to the township, may be traced those fundamental princi- 
ples — delegated legislation and equality of rights — which are the 
basis of our national greatness. When in the fourth century 
the nomadic tribes of the Teutonic family, prompted by the 
desire for a higher form of civilization, ceased from their wan- 
derings and settled in territorial communities, they introduced 
a system of society, peculiar to themselves and hitherto un- 
known in European history. With the family for their basis, they 
consolidated into villages and divided the land into three parts, 
the township, the common mark 'and the arable mark. The 
body politic was composed of a class of freemen, possessing 
among other prerogatives the right to bear arms, to hold prop- 
erty and to participate in the public assemblies and "freedom 
implied not simply personal liberty, but positive political rights." 
The early adventurers of New England came with these tradi- 
tions of thirteen hundred years still fresh in their memories, and 
the consequenco was the reproduction in the New World of the 
old Germanic mark. " Our mark has develo})ed into the town- 
ship, our townships have been aggregated into the State, our 
State has become an integral part of the nation." Considering 
then the influence of the township on the ))olitical destinies of 
the nation, it becomes us on this occassion to look to the past, 



and ascertain, as far as possible, what we as a town have con- 
tributed to the welfare of the Republic. 

It was fortunate for our fathers that they were induced to 
seek a home in the country of the Narragan setts. Here they 
found a fertile soil, picturesque scenery, and a people, who, al- 
ready somewhat enlightened by their intercourses with the En- 
glish, bid them welcome and gave them kindly of their hospi- 
tality. Thoug^i friendly to the settlers, they were attached to 
their hunting grounds and gave them up with much reluctance. 
While Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and many of the other colo- 
nies were purchased with a few trifling presents, the country 
washed by the waters of Narragansett Bay, whose surpassing 
beauty still attracts the eye of the stranger, was prized so highly 
by the natives, that it was obtained only at the cost of thous- 
ands of pounds "even more" we learn from the petition sent 
by the colony in 1666 to the King, "than the other colonies had 
expended for ten times as much." It is a satisfaction to know 
that our homes were not acquired through conquest or dishon- 
esty, but by free purchase at a liberal price. 

In point of time, the settlement of North Kingstown may be 
regarded as the third in Rhode Island. In 1639, three years 
after the settlement of Providence, Richard Smith, a native of 
Gloucestershire, England, came from Taunton, wliere he had 
resided a short time, and, at the head of what is now called 
Point Wharf Cove, established a trading post and erected, upon 
the site of the present Congdon House, the first English dwell- 
ing in the Narragansett country. The materials of Smith's 
house were brought in boats from Taunton, and some of them 
were employed in constructing the present edifice. Roger Wil- 
liams soon afterwards settled near Smith, but, in a few years, 
sold to him his interests, which included " his trading house, 
his two big guns and a small island ( Rabbit Island ) for goats." 
In 1656 Smith leased of the Indians, for sixty years, the^tract of 
land upon which Wickford now stands and as far South as the 
Annaquatucket river. Three years later, he extended the boun- 
daries and leased it again for one thousand years together w^ith 
the region North and East of his home, how known as Calves 
Neck and Sawgoo. In 1660 most of these lands were absolutely 
quit-claimed to Smith. The tract of land at one time owned by 



him was nine miles long and three miles wide. Smith, whose 
will was made in 1664, gave the homestead and the greater part 
of his lands to his son Richard, who in turn, by a will proved 
1692, bequeathed the Boston Neck land to Elizabeth Viall, and 
the homestead and the land around Wickford to his nephew 
Lodowick Updike. Roger Williams, in his testimony given 
July 24, 1679, in favor of Smith's title says : " I humbly testify 
that about forty years ( from this date ) he kept possession, 
coming and going himself children and servants, and had quiet 
possesion of his houses, lands and meadows ; and there in his 
own house with much serenity of soul and comfort, he yielded 
up his spirit to God, the father of spirits, in peace." * * * 
* * " I do also humbly declare that the said Richard Smith 
Junior ought by all the rules of equity, justice and gratitude to 
his honored father and himself to be fairly treated with, consid-' 
ered, recruited, honored and, by his majesty's authority, con- 
firmed and established in a peaceful possession of his fathers 
and his own possession in this pagan wilderness and Narragan- 
sett country." 

'*' The premises I humbly testify as now leaving this country 
and the world." 

" Signed Roger Williams." 

The next purchase of much importance was made in 1659, by 
Randal Holden and Samuel Gorton, who bought Fox Island and 
the neck of land between Wickford and Annaquatucket river. 
This was afterwards sold to Richard Smith. A little later, in the 
same year, Humphery Atherton, who came from Plymouth 
Colony, bought in company with others the land in Quidnessett 
and that part of Boston Xcck, which had not already been sold 
to Smith. To prevent the landed proprietors from establishing 
a monopoly the Assembly, in 1671, ordered '"that persons own- 
ing large tracts of land in Narragansett should sell it out to 
persons in want of it.'" From this time settlements became 
more numerous and the land began to be divided up into smaller 
parcels, though according to the report of the committee ap- 
pointed by the General Court to make a survey of the Narra- 
gansett country, as late as 1677, the whole of Boston Neck was 
owned by eight individuals. It is to these purchases, which we 



10 

have enumerated, that the present owners of North Kinfrstown, 
for the most part, must trace their titles. 

The Atherton purcliase, which was made in direct viohition of 
a hiw of Rhode Island, gave rise to a succession of difficulties, 
which at different times threatened the distruction of the col- 
ony. The question of jurisdiction over the Narragansett coun- 
try had not yet been determined. Rhode Island, Connecticut 
and Massachusetts, each contended for it, but, when allowed to 
choose for themselves, every member of the Atherton Company 
(a fact which may seem strange to us) declared in favor of Con- 
necticut, which accepted them as included in the limits of its 
charter and called the plantation, Wickford. (Much speculation 
has been rife and many fanciful derivations have been found for 
this name, some holding it to be an abbreviation of Lodowick's 
Ford, others deriving it from Wickes' Ford ; names claimed 
by their respective advocates to have been given to the ford Just 
north of the village, but in all probability the name was taken 
directly from the town of Wickford, in England.) Rhode Island 
not satisfied with the action of the Atherton men, since by assenting 
to their wislies, she would forfeit the control of a valuable territo- 
ry,continued to dispute the claims of Connecticut, and during tlie 
strife, which was waged hotly on both sides, and lasted for 
many years, Wickford now completely organized and exerting 
considerable influence over the neighboring colonies, was the 
place selected for deliberations and consequently the centre of all 
contentions. Courts and commissions were of frequent occur- 
rence, and it is imi)ossible to describe the supercilious exhibitions of 
hatred made by both parties on these occasions. Connecticut com- 
missioners frequently made proclamation of their powers and read 
their charter, all of which were utterly disregarded. Officers en- 
gaged in arresting persons for crimes were themselves taken into 
custody, on the ground that they had no power to act. When 
Walter House was killed by Thomas Flounders, at Wickford, in 
1670, the Connecticut coronor held what was thought to be a 
proper inquest, but the Council, at Newport, adjudged the i)ro- 
ceedings illegal, and sent a constable with a force of men to dis- 
inter the body and hold another in([uest. This occurence was 
remarkable in two particulars. It Avas in all probability the first 
deliberate killins^; of a white man in the Wickford colonv and 



11 

the first and only instance in all history, where two considerable 
states contended for the ])rivilege of holding an inquest over a 
corpse. The controversy was virtually settled ])y agreement, in 
1703, and this action was confirmed, in 17;:i6, when the King 
finally established tlic boundary line, and the King's Province 
(now mostly embraced in Washington County) which for fifty 
years had existed as an independent jurisdiction, became a i)art 
and parcel of Rhode Island. 

In 1674, the General Assembly passed an act establishing a 
township in Xarragansett and called it '* Kings Town." For 
what reason it is impossible to say, its name, in 1686, was 
changed to Kochester, but three years later the original name was 
restored. The population of Kingstown had increased to such 
an extent that it Avas early deemed necessary that there should 
be a division of the town, and, in June, 1722, when Samuel 
Cranston was Governor, the General Assembly convened at 
Newport, enacted " that the town of Kingstown be divided and 
made into two towns, by the names of Xorth and South Kings- 
town." North Kingstown held the records and was declared to 
be the older town. The town has once since, in 1743, suffered 
the loss of a large part of its territory, when the western por- 
tion was set aside and incorj)orated as the town of Exeter. The 
first town meeting, under the new organization was ordered to 
be held, February 21, 1723, to chose Jury men, who should 
serve in the next General Court of Trials, and at the second 
town meeting, held on the third Wednesday of the following 
month, Robert Hull and Francis Willet were elected the first 
delegates to the General Assembly. At this time the population 
was a little less than two thousand. From tlie date of its incor- 
poration the town gained additional stability, and characterized 
by the harmony of its government, — until the breaking out of 
the Revolutionary Mar, which shattered society throughout the 
colonies — maintained that peace, and was blessed with that pros- 
perity, which invariably attend the efforts of a frugal and in- 
dustrious people. 

After the hardships and miseries of the early colonial periods, 
the beginning of tbe eigliteenth century seemed like the dawn- 
ing of a golden age. Learning received attention, tokens of 
courtesy and hospitality were met with on every side, stately 



12 

mansions, and here and there a church were seen towering 
among the trees or dotting the green fields, and the country 
through which Richard Smith and Eoger Williams, a few years 
before, had with difficulty pressed their way, by the magic touch 
of civilization was now transformed from a wilderness into 
" the garden of America." 

As early as 1710, three churches had been organized. In the 
latter part of the seventeenth century a minister by the name of 
Baker came from Newport and founded a Baptist church in 
North Kingstown. This was undoubtedly the origin of the 
Baptist churches in the town, tlii'oe of which now exist in a 
flourishing condition. The ehnrcli at Wickford, whose edi- 
fice was built, in 181(1, and i'el)uilt, in 183(),wasan otf-shoot from 
the church at Allen ton. The house at Allenton Avas erected in 
1848 and the one in Quidnosett in 1842. Elder John Gardiner's 
six principle Baptist church, as it was styled, was founded about the 
3'ear 1710, Thf*years prior to this the Episcopal Society erected 
a church in the south ])art of the town. It was here that, for 
more than thirty }ears, Dr. James McSparran, the friend and 
companion of the illustrious Berkeley, proclaimed the truth 
and inspired the people with his eloquence. In the year 1800, 
the churcli, which is now the oldest Episcopal edifice in New 
England, was removed to its present site in Wickford ; and yon. 
der just to our left, in a sequestered spot, Avith its outline stand- 
ing boldly against the sky, surrounded by a few graves and 
guarded by the spirits of its holy dead, a solitary witness, it 
looks back upon tlie vicissitudes of nearly two centuries and, in 
a language not void of interpretation, tells again and again, for 
our instruction, the story of the ]nous endea\ors jind virtuous 
actions of those long since |)assed away. 

The society of this })eri()d was marked by much refinement. 
The landed aristocracy cherished t he liberal arts and literature,and 
secured for their children a generous intellectual training in the 
families of the learned clergymen. Extensive i)lantations,some of 
which have since been ilivided into as many as ten large farms, 
( Daniel Updike's laiuls alom\ enihraeing three thousand acres.) 
wei-e worked l»v slave lal)oi-. and produced abundant crops, which 
in the W Cst Indies, found a ready market. A degree of socia- 
bility existed among the peo})lc, wdiich, in some respects, their 



13 

descendants might imitate witli profit. Every family had its 
large circle of friends, wlio were always welcome to its hospital- 
ity, the remotest connection by l>lood was regarded with i)ro- 
found respect, and mnch visiting and interchange of thought 
and sentiment established a pernnment bond of good feeling. 
Trne some of the entertainments seemingly evinced a i)rodigal- 
ity of wealth, bnt the display was generally in proportion to the 
abundance of the host, and excess was rather the excejjtion than 
the rule. Every season had its peculiar pastimes. There was the 
annual excursion to Connecticut in May, the glorious old huskin^s 
of autumn, the festivities of the holidays in Winter, and at ev- 
ery season of the year an occasional wedding. What joy, what 
mirth pervaded the cotintry on these the gala days of the olden 
time ! Even now, enlightened by tradition, we, in imagina- 
tion, stand in tlie spacious halls, and, surrounded by a merry 
throng, listen to the orchestra of slaves, and see gentlemen, 
with swords at their side, in crimson coats and knee breeches, 
Avith powdered wigs and queues ; and ladies, dressed in brocade 
and cushioned head-dresses, gracefully walking the intricate 
mazes of the minuet. 

The slaves, who formed a large j^art of the population — one 
family sometimes owning as many as forty, — were not slow in 
imitating the manners and amusements of their masters. But 
of all their festivities none compared with that of the annual 
election, when, after the manner of the whites, they chose their 
Governor for the year. On these occasions the parlors of the 
mansion houses were thrown open, horses were provided, and 
money distributed among the negroes according to the means of 
their respective owners. Party spirit ran high, and parmateer- 
ing was much resorted to. At the appointed time, arrayed in 
their masters' clothes, and mounted on the best pacers, with 
their ladies at their sides, in high glee, they rode to "lection." 
Here, after games and sports of various kinds, the friends of 
the two candidates were arranged in two rows and the chief 
marshal, with his assistants, marched between them and made 
the count. In a loud voice he then proclaimed the Governor 
for the ensuing year. Then followed the grand election dinner, 
which was held under the trees, — the Governor elect, sitting at 
the head of the table and on either side his wife and the unsuc- 



14 

cessful candidate, whose prerogafhHL_it was to propose the first 
toast, and then and there forever drown the sorrows of his de- 
feat. For both master and slave these Avere sunny days. 

The history of North Kingstown, at the time of which we 
have spoken, though not marked by startling and heroic deeds, 
is rich in a few names, Avithout Avhich a sketch however succinct 
would be incomplete. It Avas then that the scholarly Updike 
and the illustrious Stuart lived, and Whaley, whose life has 
been an unsoh-ed enigma, then l)egan his mysterious career. 

Colonel Daniel Updike, Avhose grand-father, Gilbert Updike, 
came from New York, in 16(53. and, shortly afterward, mar- 
ried the daughter of Eichard Smith, the first settler, was the 
most distinguished advocate of his time. He Avas a gentle- 
man of great urbanity and of sound erudition. ''Among his 
professional brethren he was highly respected, and in all literary 
and professional associations of his day his name stood at the 
head." He Avas tAvo years Attorney of King's (noAV Washing- 
ton) county, and twenty-four years, Attorney General of the 
colony of Ehode Island. His Avhole life reflected honor upon 
his native toAvn. and, Aviien, in 1T57, he passed aAvay, he trans- 
mitted to her an unsullied fame and bequeathed to his descend- 
ants those polite and manly traits of cbai-actcr by Avhicb tliey 
have ever been distinguished. 

The history of Theophilus Whaley, siini)ly from the mystery 
whicli has always surrounded it, is of more than ordinary inter- 
est. He is described as a bold and energetic man, possessing a 
collegiate education, conversant Avith Greek and HebrcAv, affable 
and kind, but always reticent in regard to his former life. He 
is supposed to have been one of the regicide judges, Avho con- 
demned Charles the First. The people of Xarragansett, espe- 
cially his descendants, believed it. and his scholarly attainments 
and the secluded manner of his life, together with the fact of 
his receiving visits from distinguished strangers, who invariably 
left him Avell supplied Avith money, Avould rather confirm than 
disprove it. Whaley and Gotfe Avere supposed to reside in this 
country, and numerous spies Avere sent out from England to ap- 
prehend them. They Avere both well known sAvordsmen, and it 
is related that on one occasion, Avhile Whaley Avas visiting in 
Boston, a spy disguised as a juggler, after performing various 



15 

feats of swordmanship, witli the intention of drawing the regi- 
cides out, should they chance to be present, challenged any one 
in the audience to engage Avith him in friendly combat. Wha- 
ley, who could not forego the opportunity of exeicising his fa- 
vorite sport, immediately accepted the challenge, selected a 
sword, and, to the great surprise of all, at the first thrust, dis- 
armed his antoganist, who, now sure of the object of his search, 
cried, " Seize him ; he is either Goffe, Whaley, or the devil I" 
With his usual good fortune Whaley managed to escape and 
lived years afterwards to tell the story. 

A few rods north of Whaley's cave, which is still pointed out 
on the east bank of the Pettaquamscott river, shaded by three 
or four venerable old willows stands the first snuff mill erected 
in New England, — now a modest looking dwelling, unpainted, 
and devoid of architectural beauty, yet, from its associations, 
sacred to the antiquarian, to the student and to all true lovers of 
art. Here was born a genius, whose fame was destined to extend 
beyond the narrow limits of his native town and dazzle with its 
lustre the Courts of the Old World. It is the birth-place, the 
early home of Gilbert Stuart, the greatest painter, in his speci- 
ality, that America has ever produced and, in his time, second 
only to Sir Joshua Reynolds in the world. He was a man some- 
what eccentric in character, of brilliant intellectual powers, and 
a sincere lover of his profession. It is impossible to measure 
the influence of Stuart's early training upon his subsequent ca- 
reei*, but it is evident that that independence of spirit, which led 
him — though an ardent admirer and diligent student of the old 
masters — to avoid imitation and declare nature his only guide, 
may be traced, in a large degree, to his native freedom of action 
and the picturesque surroundings of his youth. His childhood 
days were passed in a spot environed by beauty and complete in 
romantic grandeur. Standing, on a beautiful June morning, in 
the room where Stuart was born, as we looked out upon the green 
hills and the valley, reaching far above and below the house, 
and heard the songs of the birds mingled with the murmuring 
of the brook, which flows just beneath the window, we could 
not but believe tluit it was the inspiration of similar scenes, that 
fired the soul, already warm from the touch of genious, and first 
awakened in the breast of the youthful painter a longing for a 



16 



higher nttainmcnt in l,is art. The ormt o.r t 
Iiumblc origin and ut .,11 time- 1 « '"'"''«' "'as prourt of his 
title, spoke°of Li;',™;™"'", "'•"""" "' '■'"" """ 
the last acts of his life a o v 1 ,?. i';? ™' '"™- »"« »' 
a while the scenes of his Co ^ s' , in ""V"^'°^ '"^ 

green, his fa„,e is still endnring, .and i' "t/ ir^f "'-^ ^''" 
t.me, so long as ,,atriotisn, and vT t„e sha 1 b res' '?'"' ,""' 
as men .shall honor art shonld no „tl, m "^ '' '" '""« 
remain, it will still ri „ , / "° °"'«"-"'«"ce of his worth 
i^e the form „d featu es of V'" ^■''',! '°''"'' ""'* "'""-tal- 
boasted of his : tit welf r;V' r"'"'"'"" " ''"^'' 

ored and ilh.strions son. ' " "'" ''' "'■""" °' '>"■ '"»>- 

rS\!r::j-:;£tli^^'F^=-- 

nightof December "oth 1(7^ ^^ ^ '™^ '^'^^^ ^^'' ^^^-^^e 

long time had quietly ,,i,rsned their ^v™/- f ' '°'' " 

progress seemed'to pen'ade U.o t ". ^TZ:t^ '"'"' f 

rrL;":zr --'«' --'• - -■•«- Xn:,caS 

representing "h h r r "f h, T "'/''"'■"' '''■"»^'""-" 

and thatawork-honse wht ,? ^ "f '"" "'"'' l»or people 
great advantage, ■• ye t Ge e Tf ^'' """' """'" ''^ "' 
a lottery, to rSs'e tiler o n^l natd™ 'V" f "" "'«" 
lawful money to be applied tmyarr s H? , , '™*^' l'™"'^^' 
house a>.reeable to ','''""' *''" l""''''"? of said work- 

The petit tas g an d urim';:""n ' T"'" '"^ '^""''°»-" 
system was in yo»te but ' from tin ' " - ''"" '""« ""^ 

been farmed out°to'tt . e" Mde^rti:'!' "" "°°'' '"'™ 
elected in town meetin<r At '""'I''"' annually 



17 

pliiluntliropy should call to its aid such an auxiliary as the lot- 
tery, hut in those days this manner of raising money was re- 
sorted to in every emergency. By it puhlic works were con- 
structed, churches were huilt and the losses of individuals 
reimbursed. We read, that, in 1762, "a lottery to raise 84,500 
was granted, by the General Assembly, to William Wall and 
Henry Wall of North Kingstown, whoso merchandise was de- 
stroyed by fire in Newport." In the five years, ending 1775, no 
less than thirteen religious societies, in Rhode Island, of every 
denomination, were granted lotteries to assist them in building 
ov repairing their houses of worship. We will not venture to 
assert the origin of modern church entertainments, but will 
merelv suggest to the rigid opponents of clambakes and festi- 
vals, who still adhere to the good old customs of the past, that 
they might augment the grounds of their dislike and fortify 
their arguments against these pernicious evils, by tracing them 
directly to the lottery system of former times. 

The uninterrupted quiet and prosperity, which the town had 
so long enjoyed, was now to give place to the turmoil, Avhich 
necessarily precedes Avar. New industries were no longer con- 
templated, business in general began to languish, and the depths 
of society were stirred by the adverse winds of political opinion. 

Though the plan for a federal union of the colonies, at Al- 
bany, in 1754, failed of adoption, it made a lasting impression 
on the minds of the colonists. At first the idea was a novel 
one, but in a fcAv years its practicability was so apparent, that 
the most prudent foresaw the advantages, not only of union but 
of independence, and questions were rife and events transpiring, 
Avhich were to culminate in the act, that renders the fourth of 
July, 177G, a day memorable in the annals of the world. 

North Kingstown early caught the spirit of independence and 
was ardent in the cause of liberty. Already she had extended 
her sympathy, in the substantial form of money and cattle, to 
the citizens of Boston, who were suffering from the aggressions 
of the British soldiery, and February 16, 1775, more than a 
month before the battle of Lexington, the people of this town, 
now organized for action, called for one hundred and forty 
guns. These were promptly furnished, and in the following 
month, the committee appointed by the General Assembly ap- 



18 



portioned to the town its share of powder, lead and flints. In 
June of the same year, Charles Tillinghast and two others were 
appointed enlisting ofiicers for the town. From this time com- 
panies were formed and enlistments continued to be made ; and 
during the whole war North Kingstow^n's sons fought in many 
battles on sea and land. When, in 1777, General Washington 
ordered the Continental troops, in Rhode Island, to join the 
army in the Jerseys, it left the State in an almost defenseless 
condition. North Kingstown, whose geographical position ren- 
dered attacks from the bay an easy matter, was especially open 
to the incursions of the enemy. It was at this time that George 
Waite Babcock, Joseph Taylor, John Slocum and Christopher 
Pearce, "having the welfare of their country at heart and will- 
ing to defend it with their lives," believing that the enemy 
were about to make an attack, raised a company "to guard the 
town of Updike's Newtown " and petitioned the Assembly to 
grant them a charter. •' Whereupon it was voted and resolved 
that the petitioners with such others as shall enlist with them, 
not exceeding sixty-four men exclusive of commissioned officers' 
be incorporated into a separate and distinct military company 
by the name of the Newtown Rangers, to be commanded by one 
captain, two lieutenants and one ensign." By an act of the 
legislature, in 1778,slaves were allowed to enlist. Soon afterwards 
a large company, composed wholy of negroes (many of whom 
had been slaves) and officered by white men, Avas raised in the 
town, and Thomas Cole and Benjamin Peckham were chosen 
captain and lieutenant. 

Daring the whole war, North Kingstown was fi-cquently an- 
noyed by predatory incursions. Small parties would stealthily 
land along the shore and plunder the people of their cattle and 
grain, and, on some occasions, they would even seize the inhab- 
itants themselves. At one time Oliver Spink and Charles Till- 
inghast, who was the grand-father of Senator Charles T. James, 
and who, it will be remembered, was the first enlisting officer 
appointed in the town, were taken from llicir houses, in Quid- 
nessett, and imprisoned in Newport. Here they contracted the 
small-pox, of wliidi Spink died, l)ut Tillinghast, who with true 
yankee ingenuity had previously vaccinated himself, passed safe- 
ly through the disease. In June, 1779, a number of British 



19 

soldiers landed, in the nio-ht. on the Qnidnessett shore and snr- 
rounded the houses of John Allen and Christopher Spencer. 
The inmates, who at the time were asleep, were awakened and 
rudely turned out of doors, and Allen's house was burned to the 
ground. The one in which Spencer lived belonged to a Tory, 
and on that account escaped destruction. Half clad and terribly 
frightened, the other members of the two families wore com- 
manded silence, and by the light of the burning dwelling, saw 
Allen and Spencer marched at the bayonet's point to the shore, 
roughly thrust into a boat, and carried to Newport. Here they 
were confined in a loath-some prison, where Spencer remained 
until the English troops evacuated Rhode Island; but Allen, 
through the intercession of a lady friend of his family, was re- 
leased a few months before. 

Early in the War the General Assembly voted '' that one of 
the field pieces assigned to South Kingstown should be sent to 
and for the use of North Kingstown." The story of this old 
gun is as remarkable as it is interesting. It once saved Wick- 
ford from destruction, and again, as if to repay the debt, won 
great glory for the town, which originally loaned it. In 1777, 
a company was sent out in a barge froiji the British fleet to burn 
the village of Wickford, which was supposed to be undefended. 
They proceeded unmolested, until they arrived at the mouth of 
the harbor, when, to their great surprise, the old gun, which 
had been stationed on the point where the light house now 
stands, fired into them, killed one man, and caused them to 
hastily retrace their course. Soon after this occurrence news 
came that a British man-of-war had grounded on Point Judith. 
Excitement ran high and the old gun was again resorted to; but 
upon examination it was discovered that the Tories had spiked 
it. This difficulty was speedily removed. Samuel Bissell drilled 
it out, and, in a few hours, drawn by four oxen, it was on its 
way to the "Point," where it was mounted on the shore, behind 
the rocks, and, after a vigorous firing of a few minutes, the 
ship, which proved to be the Syren, a twenty-eight gun frigate, 
surrendered, and her crew of a hundred and sixty-six officers 
and men, were carried prisoners to Providence. 

George Babcock, whose name heads the petition for the charter 
of the Newtown Kangers, was afterwards one of the most sue- 



20 



cessful commanders in the American navv. In the Mifflin, a 
wenty gun ship, manned by 130 men, enlisted in North Kings- 
town and Exeter, he took prize after prize, and many an aWer 
hip struck her colors, before the invincible conrage Jf Babcock 
f.?%^'o'?r'- /^'\^l^^^-"i«i«goffthe Banks of Newfoundland, 
nl..9, they fell in with the English ship Tartar, mounting 
twenty-six guns, fourteen swivels, and with a complement of 
163 men. The odds weighed heavily against them ; but, after 
a fierce engagement of two hours and a half, the enemy struck 
her flag, and a few days afterwards, amid the wildest enthusiam 
the finng of guns, the ringing of bells and the illumination of 
the city, James Eldred, a Wickford boy, who had been placed 
m command o the Tartar, with a number of other prizes, sail- 
ed triumphantly into the harbor of Boston. 

Samuel Phillips, a man distinguished for his bravery, whose 
unce the Hon. Peter Phillips was commissary, under General 
Nathaniel Greene, in -The army of Observation," was at this 
time Lieutenant of the Mifflin. Two years before with Daniel 
wail, bis fellowtownsman, he volunteered under Colonel Bar- 
ton, and commanded one of the five boats, in the darina expedi- 
tion that captured Prescott and brought him safelv th;ou..h the 
Brittish fleet. In a journal written by himself Captain Phillips 
says : -I have been, in the late war. Lieutenant of four twenty 
gun ships, one cutter of fourteen guns, and Commander of a 
brig of fourteen guns. I have ever strove hard and suffered 
much to help gain the independence of my country, and am 
ready to step forth again and oppose any power, that shall en- 
deavor to injure my country and her rights." What sentiments 
of patriotism! What loyalty to duty! Wliat wilHngness for 
sacrifice ! It is the spirit here exemplified, that has, in all a-es 
of the world, wherever tyranny has assailed the riglit, fortifi'ed 
the courage of the oppressed and proved :— 

" The might that skimbens in a peasants armp- 
it was this that gave hope and strength to the soldier in the 
long campaign, and, at last, wrought out the realization of that 
early dream of independence, which first moved the American 
colonists to action. 

The close of the Revolution found the condition of society in 



21 

North Kingstown completely changed. Says Up:liko, in his 
history of the Narragansett Church, " by that event we became 
another and a new people." The war had left a deep and cITect- 
nal mark on all classes. Extreme poverty pervaded the homes 
of the yeomanry, and many of the aristocratic land-liolders, who 
had fgponsed the cause of the mother country, had been disfran- 
chised and their property confiscated. Slavery had been abol- 
ished, the law of primogeniture had been repealed, and, of the 
large estates, some had changed owners and others had been di- 
vided up into numberless farms. The acrimony of party strife 
had dissipated the friendly feeling and the social intercourse of 
the past, and the luxury, the hospitality, the refinement, which 
characterized the landed proprietors, before the war, had forever 
disappeared. 

In the vote taken by Rhode Island, in 1788 upon the adoption 
of the Constitution, North Kingstown stood two in favor and 
one hundred and sixty opposed. It may seem an anomolous 
fact, in our history, that the town, which was among tlie earli- 
est to act, in the cause of independence, and among the most 
energetic, in prosecuting the war, should have almost unami- 
mously rejected that instrument, which, framed in wisdom, has 
ever been the shield of our political rights and the admiration of 
the world. But can no reason be assigned for this ? Are we 
justly charged with indifference, with a want of enthusiam ? 
No ! The Constitution Avas a new departure in state-craft, its 
efficacy was then an untried fact — a possibility, a probability, 
upon which hung the destiny of the Republic, and which de- 
manded the severest, the most logical deliberation. Once con- 
vinced of its practicability, no people were more ready to receive 
it, none have been more willing to defend it than our own. In 
this, as in many hurriedly projected schemes, which have failed to 
enlist the sympathy of the town, and which have called down upon 
her the reproach often of her own thoughtless sons, she has aimed 
to profit by the precipitous blunders of others, and has followed 
that wiser conservative principle, which argues, that it is better 
to be born gently along on the tide of prosperity than to chase 
a phantom to destruction. 

The begining of the present century marks a new era in the 
progress of the town. Traces of the late war were fast disap- 



22 

pearing, society assumed a more clieerful aspect and a commer- 
cial interest was awakened, wliich gave much promise for the 
future. An extensive coast trade had sprung up and intercouse 
with tlio AVest Indies, which the war had interupted, was re- 
sumed. Brigs and schooners and ships were loaded, at the 
wharves in Wickford, with the crops of the country far around, 
and sent out to exchange them for the tropical products of the 
Antilles. Few places in Rhode Island witnessed greater mer- 
cantile activity than Wickford, which even rivaled Providence, 
and bid fair, with its surpassing facilities, to become one of the 
leading emporiums of the state. Providence merchants seeing 
the advantages, which Wickford possessed for foreign trade 
caught the spirit of enterprise, and the founder of the present 
firm of "Brown and Ives" even went so far as to negotiate for 
land along the harbor ; but the owners demanded exorbitant 
prices and so the welfare of the town was sacficried to the penu- 
riousness of individuals. An attempt was also made to secure 
the Connecticut Valley trade, and with this in view a road was 
surveyed to Jewett City, but, before the plans were matured. 
Providence, anticipating the benefit of such a move, had laid 
out the turnpike road ; and this fact with the sudden death of 
Eemington South wick, the most earnest advocate of the scheme, 
disheartened the others interested and the project was aban- 
domed. 

Nearly all the vessels employed, at this time, were not only 
owned in the town, but were launched from the ship yards in 
Wickford, and old inhabitants remember, Avhen there were as 
mauy as five large vessels, at one time, on the stocks. Ship 
building was carried on in nearly every port of the town. Cap- 
tain John McKinzie, an extensive builder, ])ursued his business 
near the site of the present Bobbin WiW ; the Union, a full rigg- 
ed ship, ( with two exceptions, we are informed, the largest, at 
that time, in the state ) was constructed North of Gardiner's 
wharf, and, in 181G, at the extreme head of the cove, just South- 
east of Mr. James Greene's residence, Avas built the sloop Reso- 
lution, more familiarly styled the *' Reso" — that old Argonautic 
craft, whose name will always be synonymous with huckleber- 
ries and "'lections." 



The industries, Avhich we have described, were unfortunately 
destined to be short lived. The coast trade gradually declined, 
ship building entirely ceased, and, in a few years, the last West- 
India-Man, disappeared. But what the village of Wickfordlost 
North Kingstown gained. The enterprise of the town was sim- 
ply turned into new channels. Instead of beholding vessels, 
going and coming, and wharves, tilled with merchandise, look- 
ing beyond the limits of the village, the eye became accustomed 
to different scenes ; new communities were springing up, and 
the echoing sounds of adz and hammer, as they were plied in 
constructing the last vessel built in Wickford, were answered 
from surrounding hill and valley by the voice of the loom and 
the busy hum of machinery. The old snuff mills and grist mills 
were torn down, and substantial factories erected upon their 
sites ; and, while Wickford is to-day completely shorn of her 
commerce, and owns scarcely a large vessel, North Kingstown 
is rich, in a manufacturing interest, which, including four cot- 
ton and eight woolen mills, has an invested capital of between 
one and two millions, and gives employment to nearly five 
hundred people. ' The beautiful and thrifty villages, which nes- 
tle along the various streams that intersect the town, Davis- 
ville, LaFayette, Hamilton, Annaquatucket, Belleville and 
others, betoken, the prosperity of the town, andspeuk chxiuently 
of the enterprise of their managers and founders. 

The people of this town have always been characterized by a 
profound respect for education. As early as 1696, "a tract of 
land, in the town of Kingstown, was conveyed to Harvard Col- 
lege for and towards the support and education at the said col- 
lege of those youths, whose parents were not of sufficient ability 
to maintain them." Learning, however, until the present cen- 
tury, was confined to the wealthy and imparted by private tutors. 
Public schools were unknown, and the so-called old-fashioned 
school houses are comparatively of modern origin. The first of 
which we have any notice was built, in Quidnessett, about the 
year 1806, but in a few years the domestic interests absorbed 
the educational, and the school house was Joined to the dwell- 
ing of Hon. John Allen. In 1820, the legislature first appro- 
priated money for public schools, and in the same year the town 
was divided into districts. From this time an increased inter- 



24 

est was manifested in educational matters, school houses were 
multiplied, and the public school system was cstal)lished u]ion a 
broad and i)hilanthropie Inisis. 

The serious thinkers of the country early foresaw that the 
only means of perpetuating that liberty, which the sacrifices 
and hardships of a seven years war had secured, was by the uni- 
versal dissemination of truth and learning among the common 
people. Xowhere is this iirinciple l)etter exemplified, than in 
the preamble of the original charter, granted, at the June Ses- 
sion of the Legislature, 18t)i). to the Washingt(jn Academy. 
•' Whereas institutions for lilicral education are highly benefi- 
cial to society, by forming the rising generation to virtue, know- 
ledge and useful literature, and thus preserving a succession of 
men quallified for discharging the olfices of life, with usefulness 
and reputation, they have therefore justly merited and received 
the public attention and encouragement of every wise, i)olished 
and well regulated State." Founded upon this principle, we 
can only wonder that its usefullness, instead of diminishing has 
not enlarged from time to time. During the first years of its 
history, it was in reality "a light set upon a hill," and the re- 
fulgent rays that streamed from its portals illumined our own 
community and lighted up the dark places of other towns and 
states. It was the first Academy in Ehode Island, and, under 
the manegement of Alpheus Baker and Kemington Southwick, 
the first elected principal and assistant, who were men of large 
ideas and of valuable acquisition, it ranked, in reputation and 
proficiency, second only to Brown University. Young men here 
completed their education, who Avere to adorn with their cul- 
ture the walks of private life, and some, who were to fill llie 
highest office in the State. Strange as it may seem, the Acad- 
emy, which entered upon its career witii such brilliant jjros- 
pects, soon degenerated into a district school. Its charter in a 
few years, througli the negligence of its Trustees, was annulled, 
and, in 18-i8, districts three and four leased the building and 
grounds, for ninety-nine years, at the rate of one cent per an- 
num. In the autumn of 1871, the hand of vandalism leveled 
the old edifice with the ground ; and in its jdace, crowning the 
beautiful hill that overlooks the village, and surrounded by an 
extensive play ground, with airy and convenient halls, appears 



25 

a structure, which is an ornament to tlie viUage, and of which 
North Kingstown may well be proud. 

As we stated at the outset, it had been our purpose, all along, 
to illustrate, by specific example, the influence of the New 
England township on the destinies of the nation. We have 
seen our own town, a small territorial community, complete in 
outline from its settlement, gradually developing, Avith all the 
powers and privileges of the old Germanic mark, and forming a 
political unit in the Federal Union of towns and states. As, in 
accomplishing our task, we have passed from the colonial period 
to the present time, fain would we, here and there, have paused 
by the way-side, and plucked the flowers of fact and tradition, 
that have sprung up along the beaten path of our social and 
political history. But for wearying your patience, gladly would 
we relate the success of the ambitious triumvirate, who discov- 
ered the treasures of Kidd, and tell the melancholy story of the 
elopement from the Block House. If time permitted, we would 
describe our ample resources, the development of our industries, 
the growth of our banks, and, with pleasure, show the part 
North Kingstown took in the second war, with the mother 
country ; how her privateers preyed on the enemy's commerce 
and embarrassed her navy, and how many of her sons for the 
cause of freedom suffered, Avith heroic fortitude, in Dartmoor 
prison. * North Kingstown's action in the late rebellion needs no 
encomium. She heard the first call for men, and scarcely had 
the smoke cleared away from Sumter, when her sons Avere march- 
ing to the front. Her decision Avas noble, her devotion com- 
plete. The floAvers that bloom over the graves of her heroes, in 
yonder cemetery, are vocal with lessons of patriotism and of sa- 
crifice. 

Fellow citizens our past is secure. As a town, as a state, as a 
nation, Ave liaA'c a record un})aralleled in the course of time, a 
history from which even the countries of the Old World may 
glean instruction, and from Avhich Ave and our children may 
learn much wisdom for future guidance. 

There is a belief current among the French, that once a year 
the great Napoleon marshals his forces on the Cham]) de Mars. 



2(J 

Then the veterans from Marengo, from Friedland, from Auster- 
litz, the heroes wlio struggled in the sunny clime of Italy and of 
Spain, who dyed the snows of Russia with their blood and who 
fought beneath the shade of the Pyramids, rise from their 
graves and, with the Old Guard at their head, march, with ma- 
jestic mein, by the form of their loved commander. Would, to- 
day, we could marslial the spirits of our glorious dead ! Would, 
as we tui'u to the past for the last time before we cross the 
threshhold of a new century, we could behold the benignant 
smile and drink in tlie sweet counsel of the sages of Vernon, 
of Braintree and of Monticello I With what reverence and joy, 
would we gaze upon the heroes, who struck for liberty at Lex- 
ington, at Saratoga, at Trenton and at Yorktown ! How glady^ 
would we behold the patriots, who in defense of that libertv, / 
gave up their lives ui)on the battle fields of the South ! We 
can, in imagination, at least recall their forms, we can, in 
reality, recount their deeds. Let us, then, cherish their 
Adrtues, let us emulate their actions, let us transmit, for 
an inheritance, to our children, the i)rinci})les of individual 
worth and the broad ideas of state-craft, which they inculcated, 
and we may rest assured, that, wlien the next centennial sun 
shall course its way over our land, from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific, it shall then, as it docs now, siiine uj^on a peo})le — 
united, pr<)s|)erous, free. 



1810, 



1860, 
Jan. 1, 1875, 



Amount of Farm Products. Jan. 1, 1875. 
Forest " " 1875, 

Oottoi. Manuf'rs " 1875, 
Wool •' •' 1875, 



Number of cliiUlren of .school aore Jan. 1. 1875. 
in attendance •' 1875. 



1,200 



Population of the tovvn of North Kin^^-stown, in ^1^.08, ^ - ^ - ^ - ^ ^-^^ 
!! u u .'; 1790; ' - - - 2',907 



2.957 



1820, - - - :^-007 



3,104 
3.505 



!iH219,504 

9,968 

214,063 

808.184 



v;928,250 

Value Farms Jan. 1, 1875. - - - ■ " "oQiQ^n 

" Manufacturing Pro,H.vty Jan. 1. 1875, - - - -81-8^'^' 



4 

lier read imr write 



Number of children between the a.ire of 10 and H) wl 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH 



OF 



NORTH KINGSTOWN, 

DELIVERED AT WICKFORD 



July 4tli, 1876, 



BY 



David Sherman Baker, Jr. 



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